This Invention pertains to devices for holding a hand archery bow in a fully drawn position, relieving the pressure and strain on the arm, back and shoulder of the archer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,154 to Slayton discloses a bow draw support assembly in which a clevis, attached to a compound archery bow hand grip, supports an extended rod. At the rear end of the rod is a yoke with two notches for supporting a bow string. An internal spring within the clevis biases the rod to an outward position, and a finger-acting lever attached to the rod permits the rod to be swung in line with the bow string when the bow is drawn. The bow string is supported by the notches in the rod. When it is desirable to use the bow, the string is slightly drawn and the internal spring causes the support assembly to swing out of the way of the bow string, permitting the archer to aim and release.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,730 to Kluver discloses a fixed prop or support which may be placed to hold a bow string of a compound bow in an extended drawn position, supporting, at one end, the bow string and bracing it against a notch in the front end which engages the bow. An arrow may be placed on the bow string in the usual manner. The bow may be fired by simply pulling back on the bow string; the prop falls to the ground, releasing the bow string for firing.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,664,078 to Irwin discloses a bow string support which includes a handle for drawing the bow string and a nocked arrow into a fully drawn position. The bow string support slides within a channel fastened to the front of the bow and has one or a series of notches so that as the bow string and nocked arrow are drawn back with the bow string support by pulling on the handle 90, the bow string support falls into one or more of the notches, locking the bow string in a properly drawn position. The arrow is gripped by a trigger notch within the bow string support and a finger trigger is provided on the bow string support for releasing the bow string and the arrow. It should be noted that the support does not swing out of the way, but is merely mounted to one side of the bow string and the arrow and remains in position during release.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,210,332 to Kvistad discloses a mechanical lever fastened between the hand grip portion of a bow and sliding upon the bow string for drawing the bow into a fully extended position. The device includes a specialized trigger release and arrows.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,035 to Brooks discloses a Bow Pressure Relief String Holder device for a compound archery bow in the form of a first fixed leg mounted above the hand grip portion of the bow, extending to the rear, and a second leg pivotally mounted to the first leg. The joint between the legs is spring-loaded so that the second leg supports the bow string in a cocked position, but, when the bow string is pulled back further, the second leg pivots away, out of the line of the bow string.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,815,016 to Kellogg discloses an attachment for a long bow in the form of two fixed parallel rods attached to the hand grip of the bow and extending to a handle behind the position of the cocked bow. The handle includes a trigger and release mechanism for holding the cocked bow and arrow in position and then releasing the bow and arrow.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,138 to Grover discloses, a bow string drawing and Bow Pressure Relief String Holder device in the form of a sliding tube received within a guide on the handle of the bow. A trigger mechanism for holding the bow string is mounted at the rear of the tube as part of a handle mechanism for drawing the tube to an extended position. An internal lock within the draw tube guide on the handle locks the draw tube into a drawn position at one of a number of drawn positions as the tube is drawn backwards. A lever, extending forward of the hand grip section, releases the draw tube lock permitting the draw tube to be pushed to a forward position. In use, the arrow is nocked on the bow string, and the bow string is caught in the trigger mechanism on the rear of the draw bar handle. The draw bar is drawn to a fully taunt position at which point the looking mechanism looks it in the drawn position, holding the bow string and arrow in a drawn, cocked position. The bow string and arrow can be released by activating the trigger on the handle. The bow string is then re-cocked by releasing the draw bar, sliding it forward, re-locking the bow string into the trigger and repeating the process.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,895,621 to Kellogg discloses, as part of a trigger mechanism for holding and releasing a bow string, a sliding or folding tube connected between the handle portion of a bow and the trigger handle. This patent discloses a tube for holding a bow string in a drawn position as part of the claimed invention, which is to a novel trigger mechanism for releasing the bow string.
None of this prior art directly addresses a major problem with such bow attachments. The purpose of such a support is to lessen muscle fatigue in the archer, in order to reduce movement during the crucial aiming period when the game is closest and most easily spooked; yet the disclosed devices all create snapping or vibrating motions at the critical period of release, when such motions are most deleterious.